Tag: Tim Hudson Page 2 of 4

#Birmingham Black Barons

The arrival of Jim Pagliaroni sent Del Crandall packing (he refused a demotion to AAA), with Gene Tenace being relegated to reserve duty.

Nate Colbert was the odd man out with Andy Pettitte‘s arrival prompting Birmingham to carry 12 pitchers. Colbert will be back when rosters expand if not sooner. Pettitte slides into the rotation, with Larry Benton heading to the bullpen. Optimistically, the trio of Alejandro Peña, Pettitte, and Greg Maddux are on par with any trio of starters in the league, but that depends on Maddux maintaining his current form and all three staying healthy.

Pettitte’s first start was a success: 6 shutout innings, and combining with Steve Bedrosian and Kent Mercker on a 10 hit blanking of Ottawa. The Black Barons turned a league record 6 double plays in the game, and Frank McCormick, Hank Aaron, and Bob Nieman all went deep.

Harley Young will miss about a month, a pretty big blow to the Black Barons bullpen. Jim Whitney was recalled to take Young’s place.

#Brooklyn Royal Giants

Art Griggs will miss about 2 weeks of action with an oblique strain. The Royal Giants recalled OF Matt Holliday from AAA.

#Miami Cuban Giants

Lots of roster juggling here …

Cole Hamels and Freddie Fitzsimmons join the big league roster, with Hamels sliding right into the rotation. José Méndez takes over the final rotation spot, pushing Eustaquio Pedroso back to the bullpen. Once Ozzie Canseco clears waivers, Sandy Consuegra will be recalled from AAA.

The departure of Ed Bauta and Aroldis Chapman leave the Cuban Giants pretty weak at the back end of the pen, so they’re hoping some mix of Brown, Braden Looper, and Ricky Nolasco can handle closing games out.

Willie Kamm was promoted all the way from AA, and Jim Thome recalled from AAA to replace the departed Will Clark.

Fitzsimmons pitched in 2 games and then hit the DL with a hamstring problem, prompting Miami to recall Marcelino López to fill out the bullpen.

#Portland Sea Dogs

Hal Griggs and Frank Williams were sent to AAA to clear room for Trevor Hoffman and Mark Melancon and Dizzy Trout took the final spot in their rotation. Gavvy Cravath‘s arrival sent Ruben Sierra back as well. Cravath slides into RF, most likely reducing both Jeff Burroughs‘ and Greg Litton‘s playing time.

The Sea Dogs hit 6 homeruns in an 11-5 thrashing of Los Angeles, with Harry Hooper (a grandslam), Kent Hrbek (twice), Buddy Bell, Iván Rodriguez, and Rogers Hornsby all sending balls over the fence. Hrbek once again tied for the league lead with his 33rd of the season. Despite extreme wildness, Joséito Muñoz surrendered only 1 run in just over 5 innings, leveling his record at 5-5 on the season.

Walter Johnson will miss about a week, requiring a quick trip to the DL. The Sea Dogs recalled Ray Fontenot from AAA, but Atlee Hammaker is likely to get the nod for Johnson’s next start. Both Pascual Pérez and, more interestingly, Joe Mauer, began rehab assignments at AAA.

#San Francisco Sea Lions

Billy Taylor and Nick Altrock were promoted to San Francisco, with Altrock sliding right into the back of the rotation as the Sea Lions try to figure out just what they have in the 28 year old hurler.

Gene Oliver was brought up to platoon with Mickey Cochrane behind the plate, with Cy Perkins being let go. There may be more moves ahead, depending on the status of Dick Lundy‘s injury. San Francisco would really like to move Miguel Cairo down, but it’s not clear who is ready for big league minutes at SS, especially if Lundy is out for any length of time.

Lundy will miss about 2 weeks, prompting the Sea Lions to recall Roy Hartzell from AAA.

Hartzell started his WBL career with a bang, hitting a homerun in his first at-bat. Bobby Bonds and Bob Cerv also went deep, and Tim Hudson seems to have turned the corner in his time in San Francisco as the Sea Lions beat Baltimore, 6-2.

Two homeruns from Pedro Guerrero led the Sea Lions to a 6-5 victory over the Black Sox. Guerrero drove in 5, helping Eddie Plank move to 8-5 on the year with Rod Beck picking up his 22nd save.

Taylor appeared in one game and tore his rotator cuff, putting him out for about 10 months. Bump Hadley was recalled from AAA.

TWIWBL 33.4: Series XXVI Notes – Marvin Miller Division

By mknn

On February 20, 2023

In TWIWBL

#Brooklyn Royal Giants

Nap Rucker‘s stay was brief, as the lefty was sent down to clear room for Ralph Branca to make a start at the big league level.

#Portland Sea Dogs

Mike Cuellar had 9 wins out of the bullpen when called upon to make his first start of the year. He tossed a solid 5 innings against the Black Yankees, getting the win and improving his record to 10-5. Rogers Hornsby and Gary Pettis (who pushed his average over .400) had 3 hits each and Hornsby and Kent Hrbek went deep for the Sea Dogs in the victory. Hrbek now has 29 dingers, good for 2nd in the league.

Unfortunately for Portland, their pitching staff was still in need of rest even after Cuellar’s effort. That necessitated some roster moves, and Hughie Jennings was the odd man out, at least temporarily. Hal Griggs was recalled: Griggs struggled from the bullpen earlier in the year, but has been dominant at AAA since.

It didn’t work: Griggs was rocked, and Pascual Pérez injured. The former was returned to AAA, the latter placed on the DL. Ray Fontenot was recalled from AAA, along with Ruben Sierra.

Bobby Murcer went deep twice and the Sea Dogs pounded out 14 hits in a 10-4 win over New York. Walter Johnson moved to 10-3 on the year with a strong 6 innings of work.

More rough news for the Sea Dogs: Joe Mauer‘s recovery hasn’t gone so well, and will take at least another week before he’s ready to return.

#San Francisco Sea Lions

Tommy Bridges has struggled since being acquired from Miami over the all-star break, posting an ERA approaching 9.00. Needing an emergency starter, the Sea Lions finally pulled the trigger, sending Bridges to AAA and recalling James Shields.

It didn’t last: the Sea Lions needed another emergency starter, and Shields didn’t do that well, so he headed back, with Rick Langford coming up to make the start. Langford was excellent: 1 run in 6 gutsy innings, so he should remain with the WBL for a while.

Reggie Jackson had quite a day: a record-tying 3 homeruns, 7 RBIs, 4 runs scored, and a hamstring injury that is likely to keep the Sea Lions’ best offensive player out for at least a week. Pedro Guerrero, Bobby Bonds, and Jack Clark also went deep in the 12-5 win that also saw Tim Hudson‘s best start for San Francsico.

Jackson was put on the DL after the game, with 20 year old phenom Jimmie Foxx being called up to make his debut.

TWIWBL 32.0: Series XXV Notes

By mknn

On February 1, 2023

In TWIWBL

July 19th

For this TWIWBL we’re going to look at two of my favorite emerging plotlines.

Biggest Surprise

Right now, it’s got to be the Birmingham Black Barons. At the end of May, they were 10 games back, a .400 team, and battling Miami for last place in the Marvin Miller Division. Today, they are 7 games over .500, and only 2.5 games behind division-leading Portland. So, what happened?

Birmingham began to turn it around in late May, but their high level of activity at the all-star break has to be mentioned as well. Ultimately, they lost 2 SPs (Dick Rudolph to Chicago and all-star Tim Hudson to San Francisco), a key bullpen piece (Hoyt Wilhelm in the same trade as Rudolph), and two infielders (all-star 2B Tom Herr to the Black Yankees and U Frank Isbell to Brooklyn). They received 10 players and 4 draft picks in return, with only 1B Adrián González making the big leagues immediately.

González’ OPS with the Black Barons has been in the high 600’s, which isn’t great, but is almost 200 points higher than his struggles with Chicago. He is splitting time at 1B with Frank McCormick, and the combo is outperforming Isbell. Hank Aaron is playing more at 2B with Herr gone, allowing Bob Nieman and Curtis Granderson to be joined by a rotating cast of OFers, but overall strengthening the lineup (even if Aaron isn’t exactly good defensively at 2B). Additionally, Eddie Mathews and Pie Traynor are in the lineup most days, with Mathews becoming the primary DH.

It’s worked: the quartet of Granderson, McCormick, Mathews, and Aaron have all come to life, combining for 27 HRs and 103 RBIs since June 1st. All in all, a team that struggled to score at all is now slowly, very slowly, edging away from the bottom of the pack offensively.

But the real success has been on the mound where, quite surprisingly, the loss of Hudson, Rudolph, and Wilhelm hasn’t really been felt. Alejandro Peña has been solid all year, Greg Maddux is finally living up to his hype, and Vic Willis continues to impress in the rotation. Closer Juan Ríncón has 17 saves despite starting the season buried in the bullpen, and the trio of Bruce Chen, Harley Young, and Steve Bedrosian have been fantastic in getting the ball to Rincón.

Rincón got his 2nd, 3rd, and 4th save of the season in consecutive games in late May, about the same time Bedrosian and Willis joined the big league club, with Chen being recalled from AAA in late June.

Look, the Black Barons are still a longshot to make the playoffs–but just being in the conversation has been an unlikely triumph for Birmingham. And it’s not all luck: yes, they are outperforming their Pythagorean projection by 2 wins, but that would still leave them above .500 even if they weren’t.

Second Biggest Surprise

The New York Black Yankees were supposed to run away and hide atop the Effa Manley Division. But the Cleveland Spiders have other ideas, and currently sit 3.5 games above New York in the standings, with the second best record in baseball.

Cy Young and Pat Malone have led the rotation all year, with ERA’s right around 4.00 and excellent peripheral numbers, and the bullpen trio of Chuck Porter, Cory Gearrin, and Ron Reed (who has continued to excel since being acquired from Philadelphia) have been able to consistently get the ball to Terry Adams in good situations. Adams has delivered with 23 saves, despite an 0-5 record.

Offensively, Ron Blomberg is in the argument for the MVP, slashing 334/402/638 with 28 homeruns and 76 RBIs, but the key to the team may have been finding a way to get John Ellis in the lineup almost every day, as the C/1B/DH has an OPS over .900, ranking second to Blomberg in most offensive stats. Add in a great season from Louis Santop behind the plate, solid contributions from Jake Stahl, Chuck Knoblauch, and Johnny Bates and the surprising turnaround from midseason acquisition Lance Berkman (whose OPS is over 300 points above where it was for Houston), and the Spiders have a dangerous lineup, top to bottom.

Can they hold off the Black Yankees? If New York’s bullpen continues to be absolutely porous, yes, yes they can. Will they? That’s another question entirely.

Performance

Awards

I feel like I’ve missed these for a little while, so I’m going to list the last few Players of the Week as well as June’s Players of the Month.

Player of the Month

In an unusual occurence for a reliever, Willie Mitchell of the Indianapolis ABC’s was the Pitcher of the Month for June. Mitchell was 4-0 with a 0.95 ERA out of the bullpen, prompting him to be added to the ABC’s rotation.

The Los Angeles Angels‘ Mike Trout took the Batter of the Month award, by hitting .381 for June. Trout is still looking to add some power to his results, but it moved him firmly into the conversation of elite hitters in the game.

Player of the Week

Willie Stargell of the Homestead Grays was the PotW for the week ending 7/17, hitting .565 with 3 HRs and 9RBIs in the span.

Babe Ruth has recovered from a mini-slump with a vengeance, taking home the PotW award for the week ending 7/10, hitting .500 with 3 homeruns and 12 RBI’s.

Before Ruth, the award went to Brooklyn’s Beals Becker, who raised his season average to a cool .300 with a .478, 3 HR showing during the week.

Batters

Top 2 in all categories, with the WBL leader in bold.

It’s been the Babe Ruth show since Reggie Jackson‘s triple crown run fell apart, but we’re seeing some others, most notably Kansas City‘s Stan Musial, edge into the MVP discussion.

Dick Allen (CAG). 307/375/553. 10 3B.
Johnny Bench (IND). 295/411/564. 4.4 WAR.
Ron Blomberg (CLE). 334/402/638. 28 HR.
Rico Carty (PHI). 287/360/461. 34 2B.
Ty Cobb (DET). 350/392/559. 124 H.
Mike Epstein (HOM). 332/432/535.
Mike Fiore (CAG). 249/405/415. 70 BB.
Rickey Henderson (SFS). 252/388/341. 74 BB; 69 SB.
Kent Hrbek (POR). 309/379/591. 28 HR.
Joe Jackson (CAG). 340/422/593. 76 R.
Reggie Jackson (SFS). 327/439/587.
Stan Musial (KCM). 340/396/602. 129 H; 36 2B.
Doug Rader (LAA). 324/382/532. 94 RBI.
Tim Raines (OTT). 290/365/433. 71 SB.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 313/421/643. 30 HR; 91 RBI; 80 R; 5.3 WAR.
Louis Santop (CLE). 312/344/470. 10 3B.

Pitchers

Starters

Top 3 in each category, with the league leader in bold. No fewer than nine hurlers have 10 victories each, so only the top two in wins–Cole and Mathewson–are listed.

Bill Byrd (BAL). 10-2, 3.12. 1.18 WHIP.
Gerrit Cole (LAA). 12-4, 4.10.
Don Drysedale (BRK). 6-3, 3.49. 1 H; 1.17 WHIP.
Ned Garvin (BAL). 9-3, 2.66. 2 H; 1.15 WHIP.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 10-6, 3.72. 150 Ks.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 5-8, 3.99. 144 Ks; 3.4 WAR.
Walter Johnson (POR). 9-3, 3.54. 3.3 WAR.
Frank Knauss (BRK). 10-4, 3.19. 1 Sv.
Christy Mathewson (NYG). 11-6, 3.78. 123 Ks.
Alejandro Peña (BBB). 8-6, 3.65. 3.6 WAR.

Relievers

Detroit‘s Mike Henneman has finally passed the injured Johan Santana for the league lead in saves.

22 IP for rate stats; top 2, leader in bold.

Terry Adams (CLE). 0-5, 3.48. 23 Sv; 1 H.
Watty Clark (BRK). 3-1, 1.20. 17 Sv.
Mike Henneman (DET). 1-4, 3.41. 25 Sv.
AJ Minter (CAG). 1-0, 2.22. 18 Sv, 0.86 WHIP.
Chuck Porter (CLE). 4-3, 2.04. 1 Sv; 10 H; 0.86 WHIP.
Ron Reed (PHI/CLE). 0-3, 2.59. 3 Sv; 16 H.
Ron Robinson (SFS). 4-2, 3.35. 13 H.
Johan Santana (POR). 1-1, 2.78. 23 Sv; 1 H.
Jonny Venters (LAA). 3-3, 3.35. 5 Sv; 13 H.
Brian Wilson (SFS). 1-0, 1.15. 20 Sv.

Streaks

Beals Becker‘s on-bas streak ended at 32 games, but Boog Powell‘s is still alive at 29 and counting. Other active streaks of note include Brian Wilson‘s 18 consecutive saves and Bill Byrd‘s 14 starts without a loss, as well as Harley Young‘s 12 scoreless innings in relief.

Series Results

Series XXV Sweeps

Birmingham over Indianapolis

Taking 3 out of 4 in Series XXV

Chicago over Philadelphia
House of David over Cleveland
Kansas City over New York Black Yankees
San Francisco over Portland

Series XXV Splits

Houston Colt 45’s @ Baltimore Black Sox
Miami Cuban Giants @ Brooklyn
Detroit Wolverines @ New York Gothams
Homestead @ Memphis Red Sox
Ottawa Mounties @ Los Angeles

TWIWBL 30.4: Series XXIII Notes – Marvin Miller Division

By mknn

On December 16, 2022

In TWIWBL

#Birmingham Black Barons

Birmingham recalled Gene Tenace from his rehab assignment, sending Earl Battey to AAA.

#Brooklyn Royal Giants

Frank Isbell will miss about a week with an elbow injury, prompting a trip to the DL with Art Griggs getting called up to the WBL for the first time. After the series, both Davey Lopes and Michael Brantley headed down to AAA, with Ray Dandridge and Trevor Hildenberger joining Brooklyn.

#Portland Sea Dogs

Wade Miller moved to 8-0 on the season in a 15-2 trouncing of Detroit. The top of the lineup–Gary Pettis, Iván Rodríguez, and Kent Hrbek–went 9-for-16 in the game and Gil Hodges drove in 5 and Buddy Bell 4. Heck, even Greg Litton chipped in 2 hits.

#San Francisco Sea Lions

San Francisco is so happy to have Dick Lundy back … Lundy and Rickey Henderson combined to steal 5 bases and Bob Cerv added 3 hits as the Sea Lions beat the Grays 10-9. Tim Hudson finally turned in a quality start for his new team, winning his first game as a Sea Lion, despite the best efforts of relivers Tommy Bridges, Chad Bradford, and Dave LaRoche to give the game away. That trio gave up 7 runs in 1 1/3 innings, but Ron Robinson and Rod Beck were able to close it out, with Beck picking up his 19th save of the season.

TWIWBL 30.0: Series XXIII Notes

By mknn

On December 12, 2022

In TWIWBL

July 10th

Looking Back at the All Star Trades

We’re a month(ish) on from the all-star break, seemed a good time to look back at the trades and see how they are working out in the early days.

Boom Shaka Laka

The Los Angeles Angels and the Ottawa Mounties swapped 8 players, with early returns making the Angels–by far–the winner in the exchange as veteran 1B Carlos Delgado is slashing 344/400/547 since the trade, providing what may be the final piece to the Angels’ puzzle. While Rusty Staub has done OK for Ottawa, none of the rest of the pieces have shown much at all. Wally Moon, who the Angels picked up from San Francisco, has been impressive as well, slashing 354/458/458 since the break. Two of the pieces the Angels gave up for Moon–C Brian Downing and P Dave LaRoche–have done well for San Francisco (Downing at AAA, LaRoche with the Sea Lions themselves), so this deal may work out for both sides.

Encouraging

The New York Gothams gave up a haul for Don Sutton, and so far it looks OK: Sutton looks to join the Gothams’ rotation shortly, posting a 2.70 ERA in 8 relief appearances. For Brooklyn, two of the prospects received are doing quite well: OF Don Mueller is slashing 387/395/653 and P Lew Krausse, Jr. has started his career with his new organization with some strong outings on the mound.

All-Star Ron Reed has just continued his strong year having moved from Philadelphia to Cleveland, with an ERA of 0.75 over his first half-dozen games with the Spiders. Even more importantly for Cleveland’s playoff push, OF Lance Berkman looks to have blossomed with the change in scenery, slashing 276/417/500 with 4 HRs since coming over from Houston–a jump of of over 200 points to his OPS. The Spiders gave up 7 players across those 2 deals, none of which have earned significant playing time with their new clubs, although both Jap Payne (sent to Philadelphia) and Harry Stovey (to Houston as part of the Berkman deal) have hit well in limited appearances).

The Chicago American Giants brought in 4 pitchers, with encouraging returns from Dick Rudolph (acquired from Miami) and Hoyt Wilhelm (from Birmingham). The best prospect the American Giants gave up–Minnie Miñoso to the Cuban Giants–has been injured, so the jury is still out on this deal in general, but it looks alright so far, even if Don Newcombe has struggled mightily, and may have been overvalued at the trade deadline. Perhaps as importantly, the American Giants seem to have solved their SS question, as all-star Freddy Parent has continued his strong form since joining them from Ottawa.

Birmingham’s fire sale went well. We’ll cover some of those below, but both Curt Flood and Manny Trillo–picked up in the trade of Frank Isbell (who has been alright) to Brooklyn–are both tearing up AAA.

Meh

The Baltimore Black Sox have to be pleased with Manny Machado‘s performance so far, as he’s slotted quite comfortably as their everyday 3B. But the Miami Cuban Giants can’t really complain, as they aren’t going to compete for a while and Joe Dugan is tearing up AAA while Chris Hoiles has established himself as a C at the big league level. The Black Sox also brought in Joe Beggs from Memphis to solidify the end of their bullpen. Results have been mixed so far.

Memphis’ fan base was quite critical of a few of their moves, and Roger Clemens‘ short-term success in Houston has only increased their fury. But Stubby Overmire has added some depth to their staff and perhaps more importantly, 2B DJ LeMahieu and P Jim Kaat look to be strong prospects for Memphis’ future.

Disappointing

Portland hoped picking up Rogers Hornsby from Kansas City would spark their offense for a playoff push, and while he’s better than Greg Litton, his .648 OPS is actually pretty Littonish, and a far cry from his .853 mark over the first half of the season.

Tim Hudson was supposed to solidify San Francisco’s rotation, but was roughed up in his first few starts. While he’s shown signs of coming around, the 36 year old is only 1-3 with an ERA north of 5 since his move to the Left Coast. Rube Melton, one of the pieces the Sea Lions gave up for Hudson, has excelled at AAA for Birmingham, and looks to be a nice pickup for the Black Barons.

Another one who took a bit to find his footing, Tom Herr, is finally showing some life for the New York Black Yankees. Still, a 228/267/298 slash is not what the New York faithful had hoped to see from their All-Star acquisition. The Black Yankees’ other significant acquisitions–Jamie Moyer and Gary Lavelle–have struggled as well, although Lavelle has been installed as their closer, which is more a comment on the other options than a compliment to him. Several of the prospects they gave up–Bill Buckner and Charlie Keller for Birmingham and Dick Bartell and Sam Thompson for Ottawa–are performing very well for their new organizations, so these trades may come back to haunt New York.

Performance

As usual, top 2 performers in all categories, with the WBL leader in bold.

Batters

Reggie Jackson‘s triple crown hunt is back on! And Babe Ruth‘s dominance just continues unabated.

Dick Allen (CAG). 298/368/550. 9 3B.
Ron Blomberg (CLE). 335/410/646. 1.056 OPS. 26 HR.
Rico Carty (PHI). 295/362/480. 34 2B.
Ty Cobb (DET). 336/379/533.
Eric Davis (NYY). 277/337/528. 4.1 WAR.
Mike Epstein (HOM). 336/441/539.
Rickey Henderson (SFS). 253/389/342. 67 BB, 64SB.
Kent Hrbek (POR). 301/370/582. 26 HR.
Reggie Jackson (SFS). 337/449/610. 1.059 OPS.
Willie Mays (NYG). 316/373/523. 112 H.
Stan Musial (KCM). 331/390/585. 115 H, 31 2B.
Doug Rader (LAA). 316/373/523. 112 H, 88 RBI.
Tim Raines (OTT). 298/373/454. 66 SB.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 314/424/656. 1.080 OPS. 29 HR, 88 RBI, 73 R, 66 BB, 5.0 WAR.
Mike Trout (LAA). 318/390/455. 112 H.

Pitchers

It’s just all over the place, once you move past the dominant performances by Ned Garvin (BAL) and Gerrit Cole (LAA).

Starters

Bill Byrd (BAL). 9-2, 3.29.
Gerrit Cole (LAA). 12-3, 3.66. 128 IP.
Gene Conley (CLE). 10-2, 3.17.
Ned Garvin (BAL). 8-3, 2.64. 1.14 WHIP.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 9-6, 3.84. 135 K.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 5-8, 4.15. 135 K.
Waite Hoyt (NYY). 8-2, 3.29. 1.15 WHIP.
Walter Johnson (POR). 8-3, 3.60. 3.2 WAR.
Christy Mathewson (NYG). 10-6, 3.96.
Alejandro Peña (BBB). 8-6, 3.77. 3.5 WAR.
Red Ruffing (NYY). 10-4, 3.55.
Cy Young (CLE). 8-4, 3.84. 129 IP.

Relievers

20 IP minimum for rate stats.

Watty Clark (BRK). 3-1, 1.23. 17 Sv.
Mike Henneman (DET). 1-4, 3.67. 23 Sv.
Ken Howell (SFS). 3-3, 1.14. 3 Sv, 7 H.
AJ Minter (CAG). 1-0, 2.08. 16 Sv, 0.88 WHIP.
Ron Reed (CLE). 0-2, 2.26. 3 Sv, 16 H.
Ron Robinson (SFS). 4-2, 3.58. 12 H.
Johan Santana (POR). 1-1, 2.78. 23 Sv.
Jonny Venters (LAA). 3-3, 3.24. 4 Sv, 12 H.
Billy Wagner (HOU). 0-2, 3.63. 11 Sv, 2 H, 0.90 WHIP.

Streaks

Not a lot of interesting active streaks. Brooklyn’s Beals Becker–who has the league record for consecutive games with a HR with 5–has a 25 game streak of getting on base. It’s no Thurman Munson, but it’s something. Becker is slashing 382/432/853 over his last 10 games. Gary Pettis, once considered a liability at the plate, is slashing 600/667/1050 over his last 15 games (because of Pettis’ utility as a defensive replacement, those 15 games cover only 24 ABs).

Christy Mathewson (NYG) hasn’t allowed a hit in over 8 innings.

Baltimore’s entire staff is on fire: Bill Byrd, Ned Garvin, Sean Marshall, Mike Mussina, and Jim Palmer are all on hot streaks on the mound. The most impressive is Byrd, who has a 1.07 WHIP and 2.38 ERA over his last 10 games.

Series Results

Series XXIII Sweeps

Cleveland over Indianapolis

Taking 3 out of 4 in Series XXIII

Baltimore over Brooklyn
Birmingham over Los Angeles
Houston over Chicago
Detroit over Portland
Kansas City over Philadelphia
New York Black Yankees over Ottawa

Splitting Series XXIII

Homestead @ San Francisco
House of David @ Memphis
Miami @ New York Gothams

Series XXIII Preview: Birmingham Black Barons @ Los Angeles Angels

By mknn

On September 14, 2022

In Featured Series, Series Previews

Two of the hotter teams in the league face off in Series XXIII.

The Birmingham Black Barons, riding a 9 game winning streak, head into the series having moved into 3rd place in the Marvin Miller Division, 6.5 games behind Portland while the Los Angeles Angels, 7-3 over their last 10 games, are only 2 games behind the Gothams in the Bill James Division.

We first featured Birmingham in Series III and then again in Series XIV while the Angels were first profiled in Series V and then shortly thereafter in Series VIII.

#Birmingham Black Barons

The Black Barons were really seen as giving up on the season, moving All-Stars Tim Hudson and Tom Herr, as well as Ps Dick Rudolph and Hoyt Wilhelm and IF Frank Isbell. They picked up a dozen players and 4 draft picks for those players, but the only one currently at the WBL level is 1B Adrián González, who is hitting better than he did for Chicago, but still struggling at 220/238/317.

So how have they done it?

Hank Aaron has led a group of hitters hot since the break including fellow OFs Billy Southworth and Bob Nieman, as well as C Del Crandall, and on the mound, Greg Maddux has suddenly seemed to find a groove, allowing only 2 earned runs in 3 starts, and riding a 14 inning scoreless streak. Almost as surprising, the Black Barons’ bullpen has solidified, with Steve Bedrosian and Bruce Chen both pitching very well over the last couple weeks.

The numbers are still not all that impressive overall: Nieman leads the team with an 865 OPS and a 398 OBP. Pie Traynor edges him out with a 320 BA and CF Curtis Granderson leads the way in SLG at 508. Aaron has 16 HRs and 54 RBIs, and looks to pass Granderson in slugging soon. But still, none of those numbers are exactly eye-popping.

Alejandro Peña has been the most consistent of the starters, with an 8-6 record and a 3.81 ERA. Juan Ríncón, promoted to the closer role earlier in the year, has excelled, with 13 saves and a 3.13 ERA. But perhaps the key to the Black Barons’ success is a trio of unproven arms: Maddux needs to maintain his level, and both Larry Benton (5-1, 3.05) and Vic Willis (1-1, 2.09) have excelled in their initial stints in the rotation.

#Los Angeles Angels

The Angels have the look of a team coming together at the right time.

1B Carlos Delgado may be the best of all of the trade acquisitions in the league, slashing 396/439/623 since moving to the Left Coast from Ottawa. Adding Delgado to the continued excellence of Bobby Grich, Doug Rader, and Don Buford has been important, as has Mike Trout continuing to approach the league leaders in BA (322) and OBP (396), although his power numbers continue to lag behind.

The challenge for LA is what to do with their rotation after the magnificence of Gerrit Cole. Cole is the frontrunner for the Brock Rutherford Award, leading the league with a 12-3 record and an ERA under 4.00. The rest looks ugly, but looks can, of course, be deceiving: Nolan Ryan, Chuck Finley, and especially Doc Gooden have all turned it around since some disastrous appearances early in the season. Joe Nathan closes out the bullpen with 14 saves, and the combination of Jonny Venters and Francisco Rodríguez has been great in getting Nathan his opportunities.

#Series Matchups

Birmingham starter first.

Vic Willis (1-1, 2.09) @ Chuck Finley (4-4, 5.66)
Sam Streeter (4-4, 4.52) @ Nolan Ryan (3-3, 3.94)
Greg Maddux (2-2, 3.78) @ Tom Seaver (0-0, 23.14)
Alejandro Peña (8-6, 3.81) @ Doc Gooden (3-7, 5.47)

#Predictions

Look, I like a feel-good story as much as anyone. But I ain’t a believer. LA to take 3 out of 4–with Birmingham’s victory being Maddux continuing his dominant run.

TWIWBL 27.4: Series XXI Notes – Marvin Miller Division

By mknn

On July 12, 2022

In TWIWBL

#Birmingham Black Barons

Where has this been all year? Greg Maddux finally delivered on his potential, spinning a 3-hit, complete game shutout of the mighty Black Yankees in a 5-0 Black Barons win. Maddux was helped from homeruns from Billy Southworth and Del Crandall.

Alejandro Peña allowed only 4 hits and 1 run through 7 innings, and Steve Bedrosian and Juan Ríncón were near perfect in relief as Birmingham beat New York again, 3-1. Adrián González‘ first HR for Birmingham was key, breaking a 1-1 tie in the 8th inning.

#Brooklyn Royal Giants

After the series, Brooklyn finally lost patience with Hi Meyers, releasing the struggling CF and promoting promising John Briggs all the way from AA to the big league club.

#Miami Cuban Giants

The search for the right staff continues in Miami, with Bill Landrum and being sent to AA. Chris Resop and Steve Brown move to Miami, with Chico Fernández and Sandy Consuegra being released. Eddie Milner, ice cold after a nice debut, was sent down as well, with Carlos Peña being recalled to further complicate the 1B situation.

#Portland Sea Dogs

They couldn’t quite overcome a 7-0 deficit, but Kent Hrbek‘s 26th HR tied Babe Ruth for the league lead as the Sea Dogs fell 7-6 to Miami.

Walter Johnson delivered a great performance, allowing only 2 hits and 1 run over 8 innings while striking out 10, but he wasn’t involved in the decision, as José Canseco greeted Portland’s closer Johan Santana with a tying homerun in the top of the 9th. Jeff Burroughs won the game in the bottom of the 12th with his 13th homerun of the season, but the victory was costly, as Santana was injured while on the mound.

Bert Blyleven turned in one of the better performances of the season, fanning a WBL record 14 batters in a complete game, 5-hit shutout of Miami. Gary Pettis had 2 hits, scored twice, and stole 3 bases in the 4-0 victory.

Bad news for the Sea Dogs, as their closer–and WBL saves leader–Santana will miss the rest of the season with a partially torn labrum. Elmer Brown takes over the closer duties for Portland, with Hal Griggs joining the bullpen from AAA.

Somehow, Greg Litton remains in the WBL.

#San Francisco Sea Lions

Tim Hudson‘s 2nd start for the Sea Lions was better than the first, but the result was the same as San Francisco fell to the House of David despite Bob Cerv‘s pair of homeruns.

TWIWBL 26.4: Series XX Notes – Marvin Miller Division

By mknn

On June 24, 2022

In TWIWBL

#Birmingham Black Barons

Larry Benton struck out 11 batters in 6 innings, leading the Black Barons over San Francisco 6-4 in his first start of the year. Billy Southworth and Hank Aaron drove in 2 runs each, and Harley Young bailed out an exhausted bullpen with his 2nd save of the season.

#Brooklyn Royal Giants

Trevor Hildenberger will miss about a week, sending him to the DL with Orel Hershiser returning to Brooklyn.

#Miami Cuban Giants

José Canseco hit 2 homeruns to lead the Cuban Giants to an 11-7 victory over Kansas City. Will Clark had 3 hits and drove in 3 runs.

The Cuban Giants exploded for 5 runs in the 1st, then saw their lead evaporate before a bases-loaded walk to Gary Sheffield in the bottom of the 9th eked out a 7-6 win. Canseco had 4 hits and Jim Thome drove in 3. Each of them, along with Alan Ashby, went deep.

#San Francisco Sea Lions

The experiment of leaving Miguel Cairo without a backup at SS ends after only a few games, as Ron Hunt goes to AA with Denny Hocking coming up to San Francisco.

Tim Hudson‘s first start for the Sea Lions did not go as planned with the recent acquisition giving up 4 runs in 5 innings en route to a loss to lowly Birmingham. Bobby Bonds and Pedro Guerrero had 3 hits each in the losing effort.

TWIWBL 24.20: The All Star Trades

By mknn

On May 10, 2022

In TWIWBL

{The day after the All Star break is the first major trading period of the season, followed by the day before the trade deadline. Trades are somewhat randomized and limited in a variety of ways, basically an effort to ensure that, over time, they are at least approximately even in value.}

Portland signaled their commitment to this year, sending prized P prospect Smokey Joe Wood and Devin Mesoraco to Kansas City for all-star 2B Rogers Hornsby, OF Vince Coleman, and a 4th round draft pick.

Perhaps the prize pitching performer on the market, Birmingham‘s Tim Hudson, went to San Francisco in exchange for Rube Melton, Derrick May, and a 3rd round pick.

Brooklyn sends P Don Sutton to the New York Gothams for Ps Ray Lamb, Gil Heredia, and Lew Krausse, Jr., OF Don Mueller, and both a 1st and 8th round draft pick.

Cleveland made a clear sign of intent to compete this year, sending four players (P Hardie Henderson and OFs Jap Payne, Darrell Miller, and Gibby Brack) to Philadelphia for all-star reliever Ron Reed.

The Spiders also picked up Houston‘s struggling OF Lance Berkman to add more pop to their lineup, sending OF Harry Stovey, IF Charlie Grimm, P Chad Qualls, and a 3rd round pick to the Colt 45’s.

Media darling Tom Herr has a shot at a championship after Birmingham shipped the all-star 2B to the New York Black Yankees in exchange for a haul of talent, including IFs Moose Skowron and Reddy Mack, OFs Bill Buckner and Charlie Keller, P Heathcliff Slocumb, and a 10th round draft pick.

The Black Yankees also picked up some help on the mound, sending IF Dick Bartell, OF Sam Thompson, and a 4th round pick to Ottawa for Gary Lavelle and Jamie Moyer.

Addressing an area of clear need, Baltimore traded for Miami‘s everyday 3B, Manny Machado. The Black Sox sent a package of P Mike Morgan, 1B Richie Sexson, 3B Joe Dugan, and C Chris Hoiles to the Cuban Giants.

The Black Sox also shored up their bullpen, bringing in Memphis‘ closer, Joe Beggs, in exchange for P Willie Sudhoff, OF Alex Johnson, and a 4th round pick.

Ottawa and Los Angeles pulled off a complicated deal, with the Angels receiving 1B Carlos Delgado, IF Steve Garvey and OF Spud Johnson, sending OF Rusty Staub and Carlos Beltrán, C Jim Stephens, and Ps Dave Bennett and Sean O’Sullivan to the Mounties.

The Chicago American Giants added two of the better starting pitchers on the market, acquiring Don Newcombe from Miami and Dick Rudolph from Birmingham. The American Giants also received RP Clay Condrey and a 4th round draft pick for Minnie Miñoso from Miami, and sent Melky Cabrera, A. Rube Foster, Adrián González, and a 2nd round pick to Birmingham for Rudolph and Hoyt Wilhelm.

The American Giants also brought in SS Freddy Parent, who is expected to step right into the starting lineup. To do so, they sent IFs Sibby Sisti and Rickie Weeks and OF Bob Watson to Ottawa.

Miami’s other significant trade piece, Tommy Bridges, heads to San Francisco for two minor league pitchers, Shawn Estes and Turk Wendell, and a 5th round draft pick.

Los Angeles picked up some outfield help in the form of San Francisco’s Wally Moon. Moon heads south along with OF Dwayne Murphy and 2 draft picks (one 4th round, one 6th) in exchange for C Brian Downing, IF Kurt Stillwell, and P Dave LaRoche.

Detroit looked to improve their position behind the plate, obtaining Ernie Lombardi from Indianapolis for IFs Donie Bush and Jorge Orta, OF Gene Martin, P Brandon League, and a 2nd round pick.

Brooklyn added another versatile piece, sending OF Curt Flood, IF Manny Trillo, and a 6th round pick to Birmingham for IF Frank Isbell.

Two clubs looking towards the future made a big move, with Houston sending a 5th round pick, P Stubby Overmire, 2B DJ LeMahieu, P Jim Kaat, and OF Hack Wilson to Memphis for P Roger Clemens.

Sammy Sosa struggled so much for the House of David, it was decided the young OF could do with a change of scenery, going (along with a 5th round draft pick) to Memphis in exchange for OFs Fred Lynn and Tony Conigliaro and a 2nd round pick.

Finally, in easily the most minor deal of the day, Homestead picked up a 2nd round pick and IF Steve Hertz from San Francisco in exchange for Phil Garner.

TWIWBL 24.1: Mid-Season Reviews – Birmingham Black Barons

By mknn

On February 16, 2022

In Team News, TWIWBL

Summary

In some ways, being 5 games under .500 is an accomplishment for Birmingham, who had a rough start to the season. Finishing over .500 is the goal.

What’s Gone Right

The Call Ups. First, and most of all, Tommy Herr. While the scrappy second baseman has cooled off a bit, his OPS is still just under .800, and his feel-good story has culminated in an All-Star selection. Tim Hudson–also a surprise all-star–has a similar story. Starting the season at AAA, Hudson is now 5-0 with an ERA under 3.00. At 36 years old, Hudson may be more valuable to Birmingham as trade bait than anything else. If all goes well, Vic Willis may make a similar impact.

CF. Curtis Granderson has emerged as a legitimate WBL starter in CF, and has been, in fact, the best offensive player for the Black Barons for much of the season.

Nieman and Isbell. Not a lot was expected from Frank Isbell or Bob Nieman, but they’ve proving to be useful pieces for Birmingham, maintaining OPS’ in the high .700s.

What’s Gone Wrong

Aaron & Mathews. Eddie Mathews and Hank Aaron have been among the bigger disappointments in the league, each hovering in the 240/280/450 range with 11 homeruns each.

Catching. It’s been an absolute travesty, with Gene Tenace hitting for enough power to be barely passable before he got injured, but Del Crandall and Dale Murphy unable to get their OPS’ over .560.

Pitching Potential. There are some good arms here, led by youngsters Greg Maddux and Warren Spahn, but they’ve just struggled to produce on the mound.

Key Storylines

The biggest successes for Birmingham have been minor league callups. There’s Nieman, Herr, Hudson, and Willis, and now 3B Pie Traynor is demanding more playing time. Given how poor others have performed, perhaps Birmingham should just keep doing that.

Moving Juan Ríncón into the closer role has worked well.

The big story here is the gap between performance and potential: Maddux, Spahn, Aaron, and Mathews could form the backbone of a great team.

Trading Outlook

SELLING.

Hudson, Herr, Dick Rudolph, Isbell, Nieman, and Hoyt Wilhelm look to be the most useful bits that could be moved on.

AAA Shuttle

Maddux and Spahn have been up and down, struggling at Birmingham but doing well in Atlanta.

Midseason Changes

Quite a few. Earl Batty was promoted to Birmingham, moving into a platoon with Crandall for the time being. P John Malarkey was sent down, with Maddux coming up, yet again.

Ginger Beaumont was released, and then re-signed after a few trades were made.

Awards

All Stars: Tom Herr (2B); Tim Hudson (P).

Offensive MVP: Tom Herr (2B)
Pitching MVP: Tim Hudson (SP)

Down on the Farm

AAA: Atlanta X Giants

Next to the Show: 1B Nate Colbert, OF Joe Rudi, SP Bruce Chen

Prospects: SP Greg Maddux (22), RP George Murray (23), 1B Nate Colbert (22), OF Joe Rudi (22).

Projects: P Kent Mercker (30), OF Terry Whitfield and Alfonso Soriano (both 31), IF Cupid Childs (22), SS Herman Long (26), C Dale Murphy (22)

Suspects: John Clarkson (27), CF Mickey Rivers (28).

AA: Montgomery Biscuits

Prospects: 3B Candy Jim Taylor (21)

Projects: RPs Ben Johnson (29), Cal McLish (23), Dick Coffman (33), and Eric Gunderson (25); 2B Don Zimmer (23).

Suspects: RP Matt Miller (35), Lucas Sims (23)